Chapter 28 #2
He didn’t pull away, and to her surprise, he swept her hair over her shoulder with a gentle touch.
Vade noted the hitch in her breathing, eyes dancing over her face, landing on her lips. He quickly turned his attention to Egan who made for a side door with his companion.
“Take this. I can’t lose him.” Vade handed Orelia his purse, slipped out of her grip, and discreetly worked his way down the hall and out of sight.
Orelia waited in line, chewing on the inside of her lip, counting down the seconds until he returned.
After Riata collected her winnings, Orelia stepped toward the steel door, and Vade reappeared by her side. She checked him over for any sign of injury, thankful when she didn’t find any.
He took the purse and dropped his chips into the slot in the wall. A few seconds later, a tray slid out. Vade grabbed the new purse, counted the money inside, then placed his hand on the small of her back and led her out through the same side door Egan had used.
The cool night was a breath of fresh air, and Orelia inhaled deeply, not realizing how restricting the smoky atmosphere had been.
Fargus’s furious voice carried down the nearby alley. “I’m telling you, she did something!”
“Don’t move.” Vade said. “I’ll be right back.” He slunk off and disappeared down the street.
The one-horned batalin that had let them into the den stared at her, a serpentine smile spreading as he looked her up and down.
Unsettled, Orelia made her way to the opposite corner of the building, her heels clicking across the cobblestones. She’d still be able to see Vade return, and no one stared at her on this side, so she waited patiently under the unlit street lantern.
A few people stumbled out of a tavern across the way, and laughter rang out from both ends of the street. The wind carried a chill, and Orelia rubbed her arms. The dress had done its job, and now she wished for a warmer tunic and pants.
The sounds of a scuffle happening near the adjacent building pulled her attention around the corner. The shadow of a man was slammed against the wall, and an even darker shadow had him by the throat. Orelia tucked herself out of sight, listening blindly.
“I should have killed you in Bellstown when I first saw you.” The unmistakable timbre of Vade’s deep voice hit her with a welcome familiarity.
Fargus grunted. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“What you do is despicable, and that’s coming from me. And you have no idea how many despicable things I’ve done in my life.”
“Let go of—” Fargus groaned, clearly in pain.
Orelia watched an oblivious dwarven couple cross the street cackling together. The shadows must have hidden Vade and Fargus well.
“Look, if this is about the whore—” Fargus moaned through what sounded like a punch to the face. “Fuck! Listen, I’ll pay good money for her. What do you want? My pockets run deep.”
“She is not for sale,” Vade snapped.
Fargus chuckled. “Everything is for the right price.”
“Is that your favorite motto?”
“Is her cunt really worth that much?”
Vade must have punched him again because there was a loud crack, then the sound of someone wheezing.
“She is mine.”
Orelia couldn’t help the smile blooming across her face.
A rush of footsteps came from their direction, and shouting erupted in the alley.
She ran back to the corner where Vade had told her to wait, and he came tearing around the corner a second later. “Go!”
Orelia ran as fast as her shoes would allow. She followed Vade as he zigged and zagged down a few streets, darting through groups of people. When she came around a corner, he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into the shadows with him.
They pressed themselves to the alleyway’s brick wall, panting.
Vade cocked his head, listening for sounds of anyone following them. When only friendly chatter and laughter rang out, his shoulders relaxed. When he stepped into the light of a lantern, she saw flecks of blood peppering his neck and collar.
“Did you kill Fargus?” Orelia asked.
“No. His goons came calling before I could.” Vade released a breath. “Now to find a brothel.”
He started to walk away, but she grabbed his wrist. “I was thinking maybe you don’t have to go to one tonight.” The dress had already done its job of making him jealous, but maybe now it could sway him into a different emotion.
“Why wouldn’t I? You know I always celebrate my kills that way.”
She trailed her fingers up his arm and stepped into him. “I was thinking maybe you and I could go back to the cabin and . . .” Orelia looked up at him through her thick lashes.
“And what?”
He was going to make her work for it.
“I know you felt something in there,” she said.
He quirked a brow but didn’t say anything.
Orelia sighed. “Are you really going to make me spell it out?”
Vade let out a humorless laugh. “I should have known this would happen after Ricaboro.”
“What do you mean?”
“You didn’t know how to play your role then, and I stupidly trusted that you could separate yourself from the act this time. I told you, everything in there wasn’t real. Yet here you are, practically begging me to fuck you.”
She stepped back, mouth agape at his audacity. “First of all, I’m not begging. And secondly, don’t even try to pass off like you didn’t feel something between us tonight. I saw the way you were looking at me.”
“Because I was playing a part. Convincingly, I might add.” He wiped his neck, smearing the specks of blood into thin lines.
She refused to accept his answer. “I know you were jealous watching me with Fargus. I could see it all over your face.”
He sneered. “Again, playing a part.”
“Bullshit, Vade.”
He chuckled. “Believe what you want. I don’t care either way. All I know is I’m going into the first brothel I find and fucking a pleasure girl into oblivion.”
Orelia planted her hands on her hips. “Why is it so hard to admit you might actually be attracted to me?”
He looked her up and down. “I’ll admit, you are nice to look at in that dress, but I don’t mix my business with pleasure. You are business, Orelia. Nothing more.”
“So, you truly feel nothing for me then? Nothing but the heavy weight of responsibility, is that right?”
“Now you’re getting it.”
Angry tears started burning her eyes. “Why not me? What’s wrong with who I am?”
Vade shook his head and walked away. “I’m not having this conversation.”
She jumped in front of him. “Tell me why. I’m a good person.
I’m kind, I try to be helpful, and I’m attractive.
You treat me like I’m some hideous monster you can’t bear to look at.
Why, Vade?” Her voice broke on his name, and she didn’t care how weak it made her sound.
She may be naive to the ways of the world, but she knew desire when she saw it.
The way he’d held her on his lap, how he watched her as they breathed the same air, how he’d shielded her from Fargus.
He cared about her. She knew he did. “Do you truly find me so repulsive you couldn’t fathom actually enjoying my company? Do you really hate me that much?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t hate you.”
She put her hands on his chest. “Then why?”
Vade looked at her hands and swallowed. He gently grabbed her wrists and pulled them away from him. He fished out the money he’d won and handed her half. “You earned your share tonight. Go enjoy yourself.”
Orelia wasn’t interested in the coins, but she took them anyway. “But I want to enjoy myself with you.”
Vade put his purse back in his pocket. “No.”
She let out a defeated breath, forcing herself not to cry. “Fine.” Orelia spun on her heel and stormed off.
“At least tell me where you’re going!” he called out.
She picked up her pace and threw a, “None of your damn business,” over her shoulder.